Aircraft landing wheel turbine



June 5, 1945. L LUE K 2,377,638

AIRCRAFT LANDING WHEEL TURBINE Filed llay 1, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

' LAWPE/vcA'R L'usczg, i

: BY v Y ATTORNEY.

Jli ne5f1 945; I R, u c 2,377,638

AIRCRAFT LAN DING WHEEL TURBINE Filed llay 1,1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 'June 5,1945. R LUECK 2,377,638

AIRCRAFT LANDING WHEEL TURBINE Filed May 1, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet :5

IN VEN TO R. Jar/252w; A 5056/;

ATTORNEY.

Patented June 5, 1945 UNITED 'ruanmn Lawrence B. Iineck, El Monte, Calif. Application lifay 1, 1944, Serial No. 533,556

3'Claims. (Cl. 244 -103) Y This invention relates to aeronautics, and more particularly to an improvement in the design and construction of the wheels of an aircraft landing Due largely to the fact that as an airplane approaches a landing its landing wheels norma ly are not rotating. the initial impact between each of the airplane's wheels and the surface upon whichthelandingisbeingmaderesultsinthe' imposition of excessive strains, not only upon the tire, but also upon the entire landing gear. Particularly true is it in respect of large, heavy aircraft that imtial contact of each ofthe tires with the runway produces a cloud of smoke accounted for by the magnitude of the frictional force required to set the landing wheels in motion at a rate proportional to the speed at which the aircraft is then traveling. Consequently, the life of aircraft tires is extremely short, particularly when the relatively high cost of aircraft tires is taken into consideration.

past the tire as the aircraft approaches its landing,insuchamannerastocausethe tire and its wheel torotateat a speed substantially proportionate to the ground speed of the aircraft.

The invention p0 other objects and valuable features, some'of which, with those "enumerated, will beset forth inthe following description of the embodiments of my invention illustrated in the drawings accomp nyi ing partof therpeciflcation. It isto be understoodthatldonotlimitmyselftotheshowing made by the said drawings and description, as I may adopt variations of the preferred embodiments of my invention without departing from thescope thereof as defined by the claims. Referring to the drawings:

li'igurelisaperspectiveofanairplanethe landinggearof which is with time embodylng the aero-turbine forming the subject so matter of the present invention.

Nor is the damage to, aircraft landing gear caused by making landing contact before the wheels are set in rotation at or near a'speed proportional to the craft's ground speed limited to as the smiling, and frictional wear of the tires themselves. Not infrequently does the disparity of the tires circumferential speed and the craft's ground speed impose such strain upon the land--' ing gear that mechanicaldamage results, and

upon the tire that a-blowout frequently is caused,

thus developing a serious hazard to .the entire aircraft as well as to its contents and occupants.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improvement in aircraft landing gear whereby the wheels of an aircraft are set in rotation prior to and in preparation for a landing.

" .A more detailed objection in this connection is Figure 2 is an enlarged view in side elevation showing one ofthe landing wheels and its tire to illustrate to better advantage the aero-turbine vanes of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a more highly enlarged detail view bin horizontal section taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig.3 with the direction of view as indicated.

. tional view, the plane of section being indicated .to provide means for setting an aircraft wheel Figure 5 is avlew similar-to Fig. 2 but illustrating a slightly modified form of the aero-turbine tire of the present invention. 1

Figure 8 is an enlarged vertical, transverse secby the line 6-.-i of Figure 5 with the direction of view as indicated.

Figure '7 is a detail view in horizontal section taken upon the plane indicated by the line 1-1 into rotation prior to landing which are operated of Fig. 6 with the direction of view as indicated.

solely by energy from the air as it rushes past the wheel, thereby obviating the necessity of providing any mechanical source of energy and connections between it and the wheel, with a consequent reduction in the liability of the device to become unserviceable through wear or breakage, and also making for lowering of costs of both production and maintenance of the wheel-rotating device.

A still further detailed object. in this connec- 1 which vanes are acted'upon by the airrushing u Figure 8 is an elevational view ofrthe tread of an hero-turbine tire em y ng a still further modified form of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a horizontal, transverse sectional view, the plane of section being indicated by the lined-9' of Fig. 8 and the direction of view by the arrows.

Figure 10 isl a detail sectional view "taken upon the line ill-Ill of Fig. 9, withthe direction of view as indicated. a r Figure 11 is a view similar to Fig; 9, but show ing'a still further modified form of aero-turbin tire of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a detail sectional view taken upon and form-.

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken upon the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with the direc-. tion of view as indicated.

the line l2.l2 of Fig. 11, with the direction of .project outward and aft.

view as indicated.

Figure 1 illustrates a conventional aircraft indicated inits entirety at It and comprising a fuselage I 1, wings l8, horizontal and vertical rudders, l9 and 2ll respectively, sources of power 2|,

and lan in gear 22. In the airplane l6 chosen for illustration, the landing gear 22 is of the conventional type and comprises preferably a plurality of wheels 23 each of which is revolubly mounted upon a standard 24 and a pneumatic tire 26, preferably demountably mounted upon each of the wheels 23.

As most clearly shown in Fig. 3, the til-e28 7 comprises a casing 23 having sidewalls 28 and a tread portion 29. The sidewalls 28 terminate at their inner peripheral edges in beads 3| which serve forthe removable moun of the casing casing 21 an inflatable tube 33 is disposed in accordance with conventional practice. Thus it maybe seen that the tire 2B is preferably of conventional construction in all respects except for the incorporation therewith of the aero-turbine vanes 35 which constitute the present invention.

Of these vanes 36. a relatively large numb er is provided, preferably at equally spaced intervals throughout the entire circumference of the tire 21 and spaced preferably midway between the tread portion 29 and the beads 3|. Furthermore; it, is preferable that a similar series of these vanes 36 be provided upon each .of the sidewalls 28. The vanes 35.811 protrude at an oblique angle from the associated, sidewall 28 and in the same general direction with respect to the tires rotation. This permits mounting ,the tire 26 upon the landing gear 22 in such position that all of the vanes 36 ator near the bottom of the tire project outward and forward with respectto the direction of the airplanestravel, while all'oi the vanes 36 at or near the upperportion of the tire Consequently, when the airplane, for example, is approaching a land- 21 upon a rim 32 which preferably constitutes a removable portion of the wheel 23. Within the approximate proportional to the speed at which the ship actually lands,

'In the modification of my invention illustrated in Figures 2, 3, and 4, the vanes 26 are formed in wards, as most clearly illustrated in Figure 4, in'

such direction that they protrude angularly outwards and rearwards in respect to the direction in which the tire will rotate when the aircraft is traveling forward with the wheels rotating upon a support.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrate a slightly modified form which it is believed will oiie'r convenience log and therefore traveling through the air at a very material rate of speed, the air in rushingpast the tire 21 in a direction parallel to its two side faces will impinge against all of the vanes 36 (provided, of course, the entire tire is exposed .to the air) but due to the obliquity of these vanes the vane; 36 on the lower portion of the tire will oiler greater resistance to flow of air ther'epast than will the vanes 35 on or adjacent the upper portion of the tire. This necessarily follows from the fact that the angle between each of the upper vanes of the adjacent portion of the tires sidewall which is presented to the relatively moving air, is an obtuse angle; whereas the angle between each of he vanes on the lower portion of the tire and theadiacent portion or the sidewall which is presented to the relatively moving air, is an acute angle wherein a material quantity of air will be entrapp d.

'Therefore, the relative motion between the wheel 22 and the air through which it is then traveling will set the tire in rotation; and since it is customary for the operator or an aircraft to lower .jhis landing gear while-his craft is still a considerable distance from thelfleld upon which he contemplates a landing, under most circumstances suflicient timewill elapse between loweripg of the wheels and the actual landing to per unit the wheels to be set into rotation at a speed from the standpoint of manufacture. In this instance the fiaps'or vanes 42, instead of being formed integrally with the casing 63, are formed as portions of a continuous strip 44 of resilient material which is disposed just inside the outer layer 46 of casing 43. This outer layer 46 is provided with a series of slits 41 through each-of which one 'of the flaps or vanes 42 protrudes so as to present an arrangement of vanes 42 similar to the vanes 36 of the previously described modifications.

Another modification of the acre-turbine aircraft tire is illustrated in Figures 8, 9 and 10, wherein each of the vanes 5| is seated within a recess 52 in the tread portion 53 of the tire 54 instead of being carried by the sidewall as in the previously described modifications. In the particular tread design here under contemplation,

each of these recesses 52'comprise a lateral enlargement of a channel 56 extending circumferentially of the tire, this channel 58 being defined by two laterally spaced bench portions ll of the tread 56 'l'he end 58 01' each of the vanes ilwhich is in advance while ,the tire rotates is securely and I preferably permanently fastened to the casing as by vulcanizing; whereas the other, or trailing edge 59 is free. In order to facilitate entry of air into the acute angle Bl between the vanes 5| and the proximal portion of the bottom" and I the channel 56, it is preferred that the trailing edge 59 of each of the vanes is supported slightly above the bottom 62 of the channel as by a pair of shoulders 63 spaced apart far enough to ongage the outer corners of the vane. In other words, the space between the shoulders o! each pair preferably substantialb coincides with the width of that portion of the channel 5 which lies between two adjacent recesses-i2. the vanes 5| normally lie substantially and completly within the recesses 52, the cltjnnel- I] Till be left relatively uninterrupted lperrnit fi'le passage of'air therethrough vanes ll are lifted by the force of the air entrapped there-. under. Since the vanes are of tee silient material, the vanes will thus be deflected from the positionswherein they brc'illusti'ated in full lines iffandlq, to the broken line position when oficifgnaximum interference to the flow of air therapist and thereby operate in setting up a turbine action, thus causing the tire and the wheel on which it is mounted to rotate in response to the force exerted thereagainst by air rushing therepast. However, after any oneof the vanes has been carried from the lower part of the wheel to the upper part, the air rushing past the tire will engage that vane in such a manner as to force it down again into its asso-' iar in design and operation to the vane 5| and casing 54, respectively, of the previously described modifications.

I claim:

1. In an aircraft tire, a tread comprising a pair of bench portions spaced apart laterally to define a channel extending circumferentially around said tire, and a plurality of vanes mounted on said tire for movement from positions substantially of tangency to positions of greater angularity with the adjacent portion of said tread's circumferential surface, said vanes lying within said channel and all of said vanes extending in the same direction when in such position of substantial tangency.

2, In an aircraft tire, a tread comprising a pair of bench portions spaced apart laterally to define a channel extending circumferentially around said tire, and 'a plurality of vanes mounted on said tire for movement from positions substantially of tangency to positions of greater angularity with the adjacent portion of said treads circumferential surface, said vanes lying within said channel and all extending in the same direction when in said positions of substantial tangency, and means providing a shoulder supporting the outer end of each of said vanes to elevatev said end above the bottom of said channel and thereby permit entry of air to the acute angle between said vane and the channel bottom to facilitate movement of said vane to its said position of greater angularity by air moving in the direction opposite that in-which said free end points.

3. In an aircraft landing gear, a tire having a plurality of slits therein, each of said slits extending in a plane substantially perpendicular to a tangent to said tires circumference proximal to that slit, and a strip of resilient. material underlying the portion of said tire having said slits therein and having a plurality of flaps thereon,

one end of said flaps being connected to said strip and the free ends of said flaps all. pointing in the same direction longitudinally of said strip, and each of said flaps projecting through one of said slits to present a vane projecting angularly from the outer surface of said tire offering greater resistance to movement of air past said tire in one direction perpendicular to said tires axis of rotation than in the opposite direction.

LAWRENCE R. LUECK. 

